A social survey team formed by Chinese college students has published a report on Chinese website 163.com in which they say that Coca-Cola is using temporary and interim labor illegally in China.
The survey found that Coca-Cola and its suppliers hire a lot of interim and temporary workers in China, and ask them to conduct dangerous and tedious work. Workers reportedly toil for long hours with the low salaries that may be deferred or subject to deductions. The survey team claims that Coca-Cola also turns a blind eye to illegal actions by their intermediary companies and bottlers.
The survey was initiated in July 2008, by nine college students from Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. During the one-month survey, they contacted five bottling factories and four Coca-Cola suppliers and found that the companies are using a large number of interim workers and asking them to work overtime.
China's Labor Law, which went into effect at the beginning of 2008, states that companies shall not use interim workers for more than six months without signing full labor contracts. However, the student survey claims many dispatched laborers in Coca-Cola are reported to have worked for the company or its bottlers for over two years, and some even for up to ten years.
The survey shows that during the high season, interim workers are asked to work for up to 330 hours each month, which is almost double the time stated by the labor laws. Additionally the survey discovered that these workers are paid less than their full-time counterparts.
The survey report points out that Coca-Cola's suppliers are also involved in other irregularities and have poor safety records and a history of random dismissal of workers.
